When the cost of gas set records last summer, Indiana filling stations were consistently in the top 5 states with the highest prices.

Call the latest swing payback.


The average price of the cheapest gallon of gas was $1.81 today statewide, putting Indiana No. 5 nationally, according to AAA and Oil Price Information Service. Only Kansas ($1.80), Ohio ($1.79), Oklahoma ($1.78) and Missouri ($1.69) are cheaper.

Prices have slipped all week - the average in Indiana was $1.87 Wednesday and $1.84 Thursday.

The average price also has fallen in Central Indiana. Motorists paid $1.83 on Wednesday, $1.80 on Thursday and an average of $1.76 today, according to the statistical survey.

IndyStar.com's Pump Patrol found gas selling for the mid-$1.50s throughout the metro area.

HOW LOW WILL IT GO? Click here to read the national report. Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 66 cents to $50.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 7 a.m. today, after falling to $48.25 earlier in the session, the lowest level since May 18, 2005.